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Weather Dominating and Nanotech Experimenting!
Darkmount - Workshop White cement tile floors complete with floor drains mark this room as a maintenance space even before you see all the machine tools. Toolchests and workbenches are mounted on the walls, with the center of the room left open for access to the lifts and hoists. Air hoses for pneumatic tools hang in reels from the ceiling, easily accessable from any part of the room, and at several points along the rear wall there are connections for fuel, coolant and welding gas hoses. The sprawling Darkmount workshop is full of activity, ranging from Decepticons performing their own science experiments to a number of troopers receiving repairs. The front lines by the 'Old' Maintenance Centre has seen considerable action, with those too heavily injured to be repaired on site being shipped to Polyhex. For his part, Shockwave is in his own corner of the workshop, which others are deliberately staying clear of. There are two devices of note in his corner: the first is a tall glass tube that runs from floor to ceiling about as wide as Shockwave himself. The tube is glowing with power as a cloud of mist dances inside of it. A nearby control panel shows readings about what's going on inside. The second device is a circular pod-like construct with clear windows. The thing is covered with antennae with constantly send out sparks. Inside is a seat and control station--the device somewhat resembles a heavily modified escape pod. The corner as a whole is abnormally cold. Shockwave doesn't turn away from his work when the workshop doors open, nor initially when Snowblind speaks. Instead he gestures at the cloud within the metal tube with his gun arm. "You are looking at the product of a deranged mind and born of the necessity of defeating Franklin Cross, Snowblind," he sort-of explains. "Approximately one point seven million nanites within a three metre cubed area." The tube hums ominously. "They are constantly moving, constantly reconfiguring themselves, and constantly growing and shrinking in numbers. "Are they the same as the nanites I scanned on Perceptor?" she asks, stepping closer to Shockwave, a safe distance from the tank and her much larger commander. "They are," Shockwave confirms, "And characteristic of the ones he used to disarm Cross's cybercidic weapon. The null field prevents them from working effectively together, but their potential unhindered is remarkable--particularly were their numbers larger." It is clear that the cyclops is impressed. Shockwave finally turns away. "But you are not here for nano-tech discussion. No, instead you are here to determine whether your own systems can increase the effectiveness of the Weather Dominator." Indeed, the silvery-grey nanotech swirls and pulsates within the large transparent tube, as if they had a life of their own. And if they did, they were -very- much alive. The strange mass is plastered up against the round barrier confining it inside, as if attempting to break free with every ounce of their combined strength. It had to be a pretty slagging dense and near-impenetrable barrier to hold back the tiny machines... "My only hope is that I can meet your requirements," Snowblind answers, looking at the nanites, studying them... maybe scanning them a little. Scans would reveal that the null field Shockwave is employing prevents them from communicating among themselves effectively and consequently keeping them from taking the form of a Cybertronian or other familiar shape. Thus, it is all they can do to simply press themselves up against the barrier until it gives way, if ever. The nanites can thrash about all they like. The null field will keep them in line, and soon will be useful to see whether a collection of such tiny creatures can feel pain or not. Shockwave approaches the egg-like pod. The door swings open, releasing a foggy mist into the workshop. The air grows more humid. "Inside you will find the control panel for the device as well as a data port to interface with." The control panel is hilariously simple. The buttons have icons on them ranging from a snowflake to a storm cloud to a sun (complete with happy face). Logistics was really in the zone when they made this thing. "Very well." Snowy approaches the pod, repaired data cable slithering out from between two of her tailfins right around where a tailbone should be. Some mechs keep their cores in their heads... others have cores in less obvious places. The tentacle whips back and forth like the tail of an irritable cat, almost as if it has a mind of its own. Getting into the pod, Snowy snakes it into the interface, and begins the link up. She fully extends her thin, blade-like fingers to the interface, and the visor on her face lights up, displaying a 'loading' bar. Shockwave splits his concentration on both the Weather Dominator and the tube of nanites. The former, once one links up with it, is a horrible mish-mash of terrible code, out of date software, and only barely functional hardware. Logistics apparently made this thing knowing it would probably only ever be used once or twice, and so operating it through the link may be a difficult, if not agonizing job. For the nanites, Shockwave alternates the strength of the null field, lowering it just enough to see what the nanites will try to form before ramping it back up again to foil any escape attempt. If the nanites are alive, this must be very frustrating for them. "Connection established," Snowblind announces. "Redirecting processing power from unnecessary body systems. Redirecting energon flow. Forcing root access. Beginning system redundancies. Camera links one through ten established." It is a bit of a headache, but not nearly what she thought it would be - no, despite the poor code and old software the little spy eye is compensating admirably. Some of the color is lost to her extremeties as most of her focus is shifted to keeping herself upright, and controlling the device. When the null field powers down a little for a moment, the nanites immediately seize the opportunity. Lacking the collective intelligence they gain by communing with each other, they don't know it's just an experiment. Hence, they attempt to emulate something they can easily perceive in the immediate area, and that ended up being Snowblind. Her form begins to materialize inside the tube, and for someone like Shockwave it wouldn't be too difficult to discern before it once again falls apart as he ramps the power up once more and the tiny machines once again go back to simply pressing themselves against the barrier in a vain attempt to breach it. Shockwave stares at the half formed Snowblind in the tube, shimmering and shaking as the nanites try to complete her structure. "I believe," his optic flashes, "That the question of where the second Perceptor came from has been solved." The real Snowblind might not be paying attention, though, having her own experiments to worry about. Shockwave casually presses his finger on the null field controls, obliterating the fake and reducing it to its millions of component parts. Glancing at the real deal, Shockwave asks, "A area twenty-kilometre in diameter has been set aside outside of Polyhex for your experimentation should you require it, Snowblind. Cybertron and Earth's atmospheric conditions are dissimilar, but you will find the Weather Dominator is capable of affecting either." "And where did the second Perceptor come from?" Snowblind asks. Seeing both around her and through the dominator, she begins the first test - wind. The machine comes to life, and Snowblind takes a few moments to 'feel' through it, to find the irregular code, the errors, the disconnects between hardware and software. Her visor turns an interesting shade green and code streams up and down it. "Nggnnnblue@4it!27AAXXpurpleoffleft98#hex715gold10n!" she complains in a string of incomprehensible modem-like gibberish. Shockwave stares at the real Snowblind as she processes the code. He's well aware of all the code flaws and segmentation faults she's experiencing. Clearly Carjack needs to start making examples of some of his programmers. <> comes a sudden voice from a nearby control panel. Shockwave steps over and holds down a button. "Proceed, Jetstream." <> The initial movement of the dominator and its windspeeds are like a clumsy child taking its first toddling steps. The wind is not terribly turbulent, but it is beginning to pick up speed. As Snowblind begins to flex her new 'muscles' through the extension, she asks, "How much windspeed can that one handle? It's going to become ... rough." She forces the dominator to life and begins signalling it to produce a localized tornado. << I can handle anything you can deal out, spy,>> Jetstream replies, having apparently heard the comment. His tone is fairly good natured, though, as if it's a challenge. They don't call him Jetstream for nothing. Shockwave adds nothing, instead just monitoring the readings. "I just didn't want to down a fellow Decepticon if I didn't need to," Snowblind replies with a smile in her voice. "Suit yourself. I hope you can fly through a rust storm." Snowblind manipulates the tornado she's just formed, picking up its speed, dragging through one of the rougher parts of the terrain and picking up loose material, before making the tornado chase down Jetstream. Jetstream's voice turns more serious, <> Despite this, Jetstream doesn't appear concerned, per se. Perhaps he was selected for a reason? <> Shockwave obviously doesn't find that funny. "Can you create a cold front, Snowblind? Precipitation?" "Ejecting propellant now," Snowblind says. Her visor reads a display of the machinery she's hooked up to; it's easy to see what she plans to do next, at least from this angle. "... I could get used to this. I don't think I'd care about cleanup duty as long as I had this linked into me for as long as possible." Outside the tornado is turning into a rust-ice tornado; the temperature is dropping significantly and rapidly, and rust-ice snow is howling out of the tornado and into the surrounding area. Jetstream, in his F-15 mode, tilts his wings and begins backing away from the tornado. Winds he can handle, but when it's combined with ice? Frost begins to form on his wings as he continues to scan the weather. <> Shockwave however is almost never impressed. "The tornado is covering a relatively small area. Snowblind, can you increase its range and convert into a full snowstorm?" If Shockwave had any poetic sense, he'd be thrilled at the idea of using Snowblind to create snow. "As you command, Warlord," Snowblind responds. Great, the only place she's herself and/or at ease is inside of a laboratory hooked up to a weather machine. She pushes herself against the machine's inadequacy, as if through force of will alone she will create what she's been asked to create. The machine capitulates nonetheless, and Snowblind scatters the snow by spiralling the tornado open and pushing the winds outward, faster and harder, until a full scale blizzard is in place, spreading out farther than the test area and threatening to douse more of Polyhex in rust-seeded snow. Warlord has a nice ring to it. More Decepticons could learn from Snowblind's example. Soon the entire sector is covered with a soft blanket of snow. If this is what the Weather Dominator can do on Cybertron, where moisture is a rarity, just imagine what it can do to San Francisco. "The storm has reached its peak," Shockwave announces. "The Weather Dominator is at maximum power. Its control systems are starting to fluctuate." "Shall I power it down and disengage?" Snowblind asks. She sounds just a little disappointed. A taste of power... just enough to whet her appetite for more. "Affirmative," Shockwave announces. "The test is concluded." When the Decepticons blitz Autobot City in an attempt to take advantage of Christmas, THAT will be the time to risk overloading the device and experience what Snowblind is really capable of. "Shutting down. Disengaging." The snowstorm dissipates, and the machine powers down. Snowblind pulls her mind out of it, more of her body starting to light up. "This will be satisfactory to disrupt any attempt by Metroplex to counter Aerospace," Shockwave declares triumphantly. "Snowblind, you may practice until we strike--ensure you learn to target Autobot City while keeping our own aerials safe." Or relatively safe, anyway. On the radio, Jetstream confirms with obvious relief, <> "Collect the moisture. YOu can always use it as insurance against scraplets," Snowblind suggests, unplugging. Shockwave ignores the comment, deciding it isn't feasible. Either that or Snowblind was making a joke. It isn't easy telling sometimes. "Further details about the upcoming attack will be forthcoming--if you require my assistance, inform me immediately." The Decepticons returns his gaze towards the nanites. The strange silvery mass is still doing what it was before, plastering itself up against the barrier in its vain attempt to escape the tube's confines. Snowblind nods quietly. "Affirmative, Warlord." Practice will make perfect.